In many technical fields the visible light spectrum is used to color code images in order to provide for a quick visual analysis, for example, of elevation, stress, strain, or temperature variation over an object or objects captured in the image. The spectrum of colors, as a sequence of qualitative values, is calibrated to a range of values from an overall quantitative scale of values, such that each color corresponds to a particular numeric value, or range of numeric values, within the overall range of the scale. A legend for interpreting such an image, typically including a color bar having the spectrum of colors aligned along the scale of quantitative values, is often displayed alongside the coded image. In some cases, shades of gray or assorted patterns or textures may be substituted for the spectrum of colors as a sequence of qualitative values.
Analysis software programs often provide features, displayed by a graphical user interface, that allow a user to adjust the calibration of the sequence of qualitative values, which code a displayed image. There is a need for graphical user interfaces to provide an intuitive display of these adjustment features in order to facilitate quick and precise adjustments to the calibration.
Due to the limitations imposed on patent application drawings with respect to color, and for the purpose of clarity in reproduction, a sequence of qualitative values used in FIGS. 1A-B, 2A-B and 3C employs various patterns rather than the more typical colors of the spectrum of visible light. It should be noted that the scope of the present invention is not limited to any particular type of scale of qualitative values, nor to a particular resolution thereof.